The Nittany Turkey

In a humongous sweep of draft leftovers, the NFL Cleveland Browns signed 23 free agents. Among them was ex-Nittany Lion tailback Austin Scott.

Unfortunately, Austin Scott will be better remembered around Penn State circles for his off-field exploits than for his accomplishments as a running back. However, he never lived up to the promise of his high school career.

Scott’s penchant for dancing around behind the line of scrimmage before moving forward was a great hindrance to his success in the faster moving college game, where opposing linebackers were in the backfield before Scott could get his ass in gear.

It is important to distinguish Scott’s actual performance from his potential, but that is all water under the bridge. He’s the Brownies’ problem now for a year, if he survives all the cruel cuts of the NFL pre-season.

Jamal Lewis is the Browns’ feature back. It is unclear how Scott will fit in to the Browns’ offensive scheme.

A Cleveland Plain-Dealer reader posted the following comment:

I’m excited about Austin Scott. This guy is amazing…if he can stay out of trouble. I never like taking questionable character guys..I leave that to the Bengals…but I’m glad the Browns are taking a flyer on him. Remember, Jam Lewis was in trouble and actually had his career derailed for a time by it…[even] serving time in prison Maybe Lewis can serve as a mentor to Scott. Go Browns!

Scott signed a one-year contract, but it is conditional on his making the team, which is to say that he must be on the final, 53-man roster.

“I’m going to turn it up another couple of notches,” Scott vowed. “I just want to get ready for the preseason minicamps and make an impression to make the final cut, to make it to the season, actually. I want to make sure that they understand they can use me and that I’m a good athlete to have on their team. I want them to know that I can help the Browns. I want to make an impression on special teams.”

Full story at theMorningCall.com.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, at Arizona Cardinal mini-camp, Anthony Morelli continues to struggle with apprehending the playbook, as he vies with Brian St. Pierre for the third-string job behind Matt Leinart and Kurt Warner. Par for the course, eh?

On the other hand, Dan Connor was impressive lining up at middle linebacker with the Carolina Panthers second and third teams. Having scant time to master a complex defensive playbook, Connor was still able to make some decent reads.

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The NFL draft is upon us once again. It’s a half-hour away and already the first two picks are known. Meanwhile, the Turkey sits in bated anticipation of great Penn State coups.

The first two picks, by the Dolphins and the Rams, were dealt for in advance, so no great suspense there. Offensive tackle Jake Long of Michigan went to Miami as #1 overall pick, while St. Louis gained the services of Virginia defensive end Chris Long (son of NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long) at #2.

With regard to Penn State’s output, this will not be a banner year year. Your Turkey foresees no first-rounders. The draft eligible players are linebacker Dan Connor, cornerback Justin King, running back Rod Kinlaw, the now exonerated running back Austin Scott, and, of course, bringing up the rear, much maligned quarterback Anthony Morelli.

Is it my imagination or does it seem that the NFL is regarding Nittany Lions pretty lightly these days? One thing that concerns me is that there seem to be a lot of serious rookie year injuries of highly picked Penn State players. If the PSU strength and conditioning program is perceived as deficient, for example, players might slip down in the draft because of the gamble involved. There is indeed a history of early exits or unrealized expectations due to injuries: Courtney Brown, Ki-Jana Carter, Curtis Enis, and LaVar Arrington, to name a few. We won’t know whether Paul Posluszny’s leg will ever be the same, but it is too soon to tell.

Connor stands the best chance of being a first-rounder, although early second round seems more likely to this Turkey. Linebackers Keith Rivers of USC and Jerod Mayo of Tennessee are more highly regarded. Nevertheless, many NFL scouts think that Connor has the brains and the brawn to exceed the capability of his predecessor, Paul Posluszny.

Justin King hurt himself with his performance on the field in 2007. The vaunted Nittany Lion “shutdown corner” didn’t shut too much down. It was apparent at the end of the season that opposing offenses were targeting his side of the field. We heard excuses about secret neck injuries and such, but no one knows for certain what King’s problem was. King will be a project for whichever team chooses him. He’s got the speed, as he demonstrated at the Scouting Combine, but his usefulness against the big, speedy, bump-and-run NFL receivers is as yet untested. Look for King to be a late second or early third rounder, at best.

Kinlaw and Scott are potential late rounders at best. Scott’s off-field woes hurt him, as does his dancing behind the LOS, which would get him killed in the NFL. Kinlaw is a no-nonsense runner, but this draft class is loaded with running backs.

Now, we come to Morelli. He’s the only one of the PSU players in the draft with three flags next to his name. Flags are negative indicators. Connor and Scott, for example, got the “character” flag for being involved in off-field incidents. Morelli earned his “character” flag for taunting Michigan fans during the Penn State loss in The Big House. Morelli also got a “mental” flag, which equates to “does not learn and retain the system.” Finally, he is the proud recipient of the “speed” flag, which means he lacks ideal speed for his position. With all this going for him, he really needs his dad to make excuses for him, which I’m sure NFL teams will buy into. Yeah, right! Morelli might wind up an undrafted free agent, although he has talked to a couple of teams, most notably the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The big quarterback derby this year surrounds Matt Ryan of Boston College. Both Atlanta and Baltimore are in serious need of a QB who can step in quickly, in the wake of the departures of Michael Vick and Steve McNair. Chad Henne, who started all four years at Michigan, is probably going to go in the second round, as Ryan and Joe Flacco of Delaware should be snapped up in the first—unless, of course, someone grabs Morelli. (OK. Just kidding.)

The Turkey will return with some more commentary right after Dan Connor is selected.

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Well, folks, didn’t you know that that broad’s story sounded flimsy as hell, in view of her other, similar allegations? Apparently, the Centre County District Attorney’s Office finally came around to thinking so, too. With the trial due to begin next Wednesday and the jury already selected, FOS is reporting that rape charges were dropped and Scott is no longer charged with anything.

The ex-Nittany Lion running back was kicked off the team during last season because of the rape allegation. I wonder how this will hurt his NFL Draft chances. I guess we’ll find out soon enough, as the Draft takes place April 26 & 27. The Turkey, of course, will deliver incisive analysis, from a Penn State perspective.

It seems that the Centre County DA has been more than a bit overzealous in pressing charges against Penn State football players, doesn’t it? How many felony charges against players have evaporated before cases have reached trial? Doesn’t this suggest to anybody that something is rotten in the State of Denmark?

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Scout.com is reporting that our favorite PSU whipping boy quarterback, Mr. Anthony Morelli, did himself no favors in his Pro Day showoff drills, running 40s in a linemanlike 4.9-5.1 and appearing inconsistent and “not crisp at all” in the main quarterback workout. Tell us something we didn’t already know.

Among other NFL personnel, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin personally attended the workouts. Perhaps he wanted to see the place where his predecessor will be coaching next. (Just kidding, but RUTS has reported that Bill Cowher met with Spanier and Paterno as well as Curley when he visited University Park last month.)

Dan Connor, who missed the linebacker workouts at the NFL Scouting Combine, having gone home from that event with the flu,  looked good all around, running a 4.70 and a 4.71.

Even the forgotten man, Austin Scott, had a decent performance. However, his legal trouble and his hesitancy to hit holes of the football kind will make him iffy for the NFL.

Justin King participated in all the drills except for the 40, I suppose because he wanted to leave well enough alone after having run a 4.31 at the NFL Combine. He was said to have performed well.

*       *       *       *       *

One other thing. Terrelle Pryor will announce his choice this week. Just about everybody thinks it will be Ohio State, so don’t be surprised if it is. Now that he’s won the basketball championship for Jeannette, he can concentrate on ending this high drama.